Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/18/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I hope your office can help me in getting my refund for contact lenses from Bello Opticians, 348 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester. I am a 70-year-old from Webster who has used the above establishment for several years for eye exams, contact lenses, and glasses. I recently had cataract surgery so no longer need contact lenses or glasses. Recently, I returned my unopened & unexpired **************************** contact lenses to Bello's. They returned my 1st box of contact lenses to ******* and credited my debit card. When I brought in my second group of unopened lenses, they also returned them to ******* and told me I would receive a $144 refund. I gave them my debit card and they put through the $144 refund to my card. A few days later, I received a phone call from them and they told me my debit card was not the card I used for the original purchase & that they needed the original credit card for the refund. They then gave me the last 4 digits of the card they had on file for the original purchase. When I looked through my credit cards, I could not locate any card with the numbers they gave me so I asked for a Refund Check since they already had been credited by ******. (I have since located the credit card they wanted for my credit.) When I spoke with the owner, Nick Bello, on Tuesday, June 13, he refused to refund my money, became rude & nasty, and insulted me. Mr. Bello told me that I could have a store credit & nothing more. When I explained to him that I did not need contacts or eyeglass products anymore since my cataract surgery and that I would simply prefer a refund check, he began to yell & say that "Customers always expect too much when they are nice to them, etc." He then hung up the phone on me. I have never been treated so disrespectfully by any business owner in all my life. All I want is my $144 returned to me. Mr. Bello has already received the credit from ******************** yet he refuses to return it to me. Would your office kindly assist me? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2023

  Mrs. Stoica purchased 2- 90 Packs of Contact Lenses in June 2022, and purchased another 2 - 90 Packs in December 2022. On 05/17/23 she came into our office with 1 open box, and 1 unopened box, as a courtesy, she was issued a refund for the unopened box in the amount of $95.00. At that time she stated that she would attempt to sell the opened box online. Per policy this type of product, not only because it is a prescription, but also due to the length of time that had passed since the product was purchased, it is NOT refundable, but again, as a courtesy, our office provided the refund. Then, on 06/05/23 Mrs. Stoica returned to our office again with another unopened box of Contact Lenses, and what was assumed to be the same open box she had tried to return previously. Again, due to the time that had passed since they were purchased, it was explained to her that we could not refund the open box, or on this occasion the unopened box either, but we would contact Johnson & Johnson regarding the unopened box to see if we could obtain credit for it, Johnson & Johnson offered to issue a credit (not a refund) to our store in the amount of $144.50, and in turn, we offered a store credit to Mrs. Stoica, which she declined, and demanded a refund. Our staff continued to try to explain the issue to Mrs. Stoica, and why we could not provide a refund for old product, but she became angry, and did not want to listen to reason. While we understand that she can no longer use the product, we cannot issue a refund simply because a customer can no longer use them, especially when we would also be unable to resell the product, and have to take a loss on it not once, but twice. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/04/2023

  Much of the information provided by Mr.Bello is incorrect as I never transacted with him at all.

  I am surprised the BBB would print unverifiable information provided by the uninvolved shop owner.

  Thank you anyway for trying to assist.